


The Legend of Lorule: A Link Between Ages

by AlleyCatSunflower



Category: The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, Post-Canon, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-18
Updated: 2019-05-18
Packaged: 2020-01-31 10:23:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18589327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlleyCatSunflower/pseuds/AlleyCatSunflower
Summary: Twenty years after the events of "A Link Between Worlds", Queen Hilda and Ravio's teenage daughter Zelda wants to protect the recently reinstated Triforce at any cost—even if that means releasing the ancient sorcerer, Vaati, for the sake of obtaining a magical artifact powerful enough to do so. But when she and her twin brother Link are drawn into a war waged across time, enemies become allies, and they realize that nothing Lorule has faced before compares to the dark events to come… unless they can change their future.Note:the only reason there are OCs in the tags is because I wasn't quite sure whether to label these incarnations of Link and Zelda as "Link" and "Zelda", or as the original characters they technically are. As you can see, I did both. (All other original characters are minor.)





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This story assumes that Lorule is an alternate-universe Hyrule, meaning that the events of its history parallel those of Hyrule in most cases. For the purposes of this story, every historical event independent of the Triforce's existence still occurred. For example, since Vaati's rise to power ultimately had nothing to do with the Triforce (and because he is from so early in the timeline), he existed in Lorule as well. However, the various incarnations of the Goddess, the Hero, and Ganon never manifested after a certain point, although the equivalents of certain magical artifacts still exist even without the lore to go behind them, as does the faith of Hylia.
> 
>  **Disclaimer:** I've never finished a Legend of Zelda game in my life. I just really like the world.

For her fifth birthday, Zelda got a mysterious door in the courtyard.

It was Link's birthday too, of course, but it was Zelda's door, and more importantly, it was Zelda's Minish. _She_ had stumbled upon the door while they were playing hide-and-seek. _She_ had chased and caught the tiny talking creature.  _She_ had been the one trying to figure out whether she should show it to her parents, at least before it spoke up and asked her a question.

"Do you know the tale of Vaati?"

Zelda shook her head along with Link, and the Minish looked relieved, from what little she could tell of its expression. "If you let me go, I'll tell you half the story, but the other half must wait for when you are older. It is a frightening tale."

"I'm not scared of anything," said Zelda, with conviction. Link nodded, but only after a hesitation. (Scaredy-cat.)

But the Minish shook its head. "I tell my stories to good children, and good children only. The only way to hear the true ending is to be on your best behavior, and when I think you're ready to hear it, I'll tell you." It seemed to smile. "If you'd rather not, I could always use a little of my magic and disappear right now. Then you'll never even hear the beginning."

"Fine," said Zelda, just like Mother said sometimes. "Tell us the story."

"Once upon a time, there lived a magician by the name of Ezlo," began the Minish with a flourish. "He worked his miracles within the Minish world and invented many wonderful things, such as an orb that could control the weather and a cloak that always stayed warm. But all these paled in comparison to the most incredible of all his inventions: a magical hat, called the Mage's Cap, that could make any wish come true."

"Any wish at all?" asked Zelda, awestruck. She didn't know what all those words meant, but making wishes come true was something she understood. In fact, she was fascinated by it.

"Any wish at all," repeated the Minish, firmly enough that Zelda couldn't help but believe it was true. "Ezlo intended the Mage's Cap to be a gift to the royal family, because Lorule had lost its Triforce recently, and Ezlo wished to help restore it. However…"

"The Triforce got lost?" asked Link, wide-eyed. "How?"

"That is a part of your own history, little prince, not mine," said the Minish, and said no more on the subject. "Amid all this, Ezlo had an envious apprentice by the name of Vaati. He became enchanted with the wickedness in the hearts of men and began to seek power. Longing to surpass his master, he took the hat for himself so that he could become the greatest sorcerer in both worlds and turned Ezlo into a cap, too." The Minish turned back to the door. "Then he fled through this very door."

"But that wasn't here before," said Link, and Zelda nodded as he took the words out of her mouth. "It just showed up today."

"It appears only once every hundred years," said the Minish, turning back to Link and Zelda. "But that is neither here nor there for now. You see, Vaati could not contain the power of the Mage's Cap, and it turned him into… a monster."

* * *

That was where the story had ended four years ago, because the Minish—whose name Zelda had eventually learned was Telari—had left the story on a frightening cliffhanger. He probably meant it as a warning not to meddle in affairs that weren't their own. _Don't take that which isn't yours. Nothing good can come of greed_.

Zelda had kept that firmly in mind for four years now, trying to behave herself enough that she would be allowed to hear the rest of the tale. Each time she asked how the story had really ended, she had been ignored, but today was her birthday again. Maybe Telari would take pity on her now that she was at least a little more grown-up. "Are you _ever_ going to tell me how Vaati turned into a monster, Telari?"

Telari looked her up and down, inasmuch as a creature so small could do so. For a long time, Zelda thought he would ignore her as usual, but to her astonishment, he sighed. "If you insist, I'll tell you, though I don't know what you can get out of knowing now. I much prefer the abbreviated version of the story. I had hoped you'd forget about the rest of it entirely," he added, his voice such a tiny mutter that Zelda could hardly hear it.

"There doesn't have to be a moral, does there?" asked Zelda, a little impatient despite herself. She had learned by now that most Minish tales had very clear morals, and also that none of them had excited her half as much as the ambiguous tale of the villain Vaati—stuck as a monster forever in her mind. For whatever reason, it held no such fascination for Link, which was why she'd sneaked off by herself today. "Can't I just be curious?"

"I suppose you can," said Telari, though he did not look pleased. "I'll begin when Vaati came through the Minish Door, then. Although the Mage's Cap had granted him almost unlimited strength, he sought one kind of power in particular: the legendary Light Force."

"The Light Force?" asked Zelda, blinking as she recognized a term. Her lessons hardly ever coincided with the stories Telari told her. "Mother mentioned that once. Isn't that the power that was passed down through the Lorulean royal family?"

"It was," said Telari, his tone approving. "Supposedly, it was a remnant of the missing Triforce, and Vaati longed to use his powers to become something like a god. Using his newfound powers, he assumed the guise of a Lorulean and attended a celebration known as the Picori Festival, for that is your name for our kind. He won a fencing tournament and was permitted to touch the sacred Picori Blade, which we gave to your people in the days before your Triforce was destroyed."

"Wait, Vaati won a fencing tournament?" asked Zelda, marveling. She'd watched Link practice with a sword for years now and, upon trying it in secret herself, discovered that it was even more difficult than he made it seem. "You didn't tell me he knew how to fight!"

"All things are possible with the Mage's Cap," said Telari evasively, and Zelda pursed her lips thoughtfully. If the Mage's Cap could give someone skill in addition to strength, it was even more wonderful than she thought. "At any rate, the Picori Blade kept a great evil sealed within the Bound Chest. However, upon winning the contest, Vaati drew the sword and used it to break the chest, believing that it contained the Light Force. Instead, he brought a great darkness upon the land, and the blade shattered as well."

Zelda crossed her arms; she would have assumed that a villain would be pleased with that kind of darkness. Telari must have sensed her thoughts, because he continued, "Although Vaati turned the princess to stone and impersonated the king so that Lorule was under his command, his desire for the Light Force consumed him so that he was unsatisfied with all he had won, and for years he continued his search. Eventually, he discovered that it had been infused within the princesses of Lorule."

"He ruled the country?" This was far from the mindless monster Zelda had always imagined Vaati to have become. She'd have assumed a villain so evil would have taken the throne by force and slaughtered the entire royal family, especially after petrifying the princess like that.

Telari hesitated, but then nodded. "He did, yes, but his rule came to an end before long. Once Vaati discovered that the princess was the true vessel of the Light Force, he attempted to drain it from her, but he had spent too long immersed in darkness, and his body rejected the light. Rather than strengthening him as he imagined, it weakened him so severely that he became a shadow of himself. He was as good as destroyed that day, and the light returned to Lorule once more."

Zelda found herself impressed despite herself. She had assumed, over the years since she first heard half the story, that Vaati's greed had transformed him into a rampaging monster, and that some hero had put him down for good. No wonder Telari didn't enjoy telling the full story, if it meant that evil hadn't been punished with a permanent end. A part of her must have wanted Telari to acknowledge that, because she heard herself say, "But he still lived."

"Yes," admitted Telari, a certain tension in his voice. "But he did fall into a deep, deathlike slumber at a certain shrine."

"Which shrine?"

* * *

Telari had always told her it didn't matter what shrine, but some years later, Zelda—paying attention to her and Link's history lesson for the first time since they had begun—learned that it was called, unsurprisingly, the Shrine of the Picori Blade.

Zelda had been staring out the window, but her attention snapped back to her instructor the moment his name passed her lips. "Shortly after the conclusion of the Eldest War, the sorcerer Vaati appeared from parts unknown to terrorize Lorule, seeking the Light Force—the last remnants of the destroyed Triforce's power. After turning the princess to stone, he seized control of Lorule Castle by impersonating the king, and ruled the kingdom with an iron fist for many years. This was the First Reign of Vaati."

"The _first_?" asked Zelda, before she could stop herself. "You mean he ruled more than once?" This was news to her.

The instructor looked Zelda up and down with a mixture of curiosity and suspicion, and she remembered that she hardly ever asked questions during their lessons. More often, her time was spent doodling, waiting for them to be over. "Yes, Highness, but we will come to that in a short while. During Vaati's First Reign, he discovered that the power he sought resided in the princess. Upon attempting to drain it from her, he was severely weakened and sealed in the Shrine of the Picori Blade."

"But… didn't the Picori Blade break?"

Link tossed her a startled glance from the other desk, and Zelda realized too late that she wasn't supposed to know that. Their instructor, however, seemed guardedly pleased. "Have you done your own research on this era, Highness?"

"A little," said Zelda awkwardly, dropping her gaze. She didn't want to subject herself to a pop quiz, especially since she couldn't reveal her sources. After her first meeting with Telari, she had discovered the hard way that no adult could see the Minish.

Fortunately, her instructor did not appear to be in the mood to ask questions. "Yes, the blade had been broken, but it was reforged by one of the last heroes of Lorule. In fact, it has been suggested that it was because the blade was reforged that Vaati discovered the location of the Light Force, although it is unknown how the two might have been related."

Zelda nodded. "And Vaati was sealed using that sword." Just like the sword had once sealed the Bound Chest.

"Yes. However, some centuries later, Vaati regained enough of his powers to resurrect himself, and sought to retake the kingdom. This he did with an army of monsters summoned from the depths, and once more seized control of Lorule Castle to begin his Second Reign, this time under his own name and appearance. After taking the Seven Maidens of his shrine as his concubines, he married the princess to legitimize his regime, and ruled for another hundred years."

"So long?" asked Zelda, incredulous enough that she forgot to ask what a concubine was. "Didn't he have any children?"

The instructor shook her head. "He did not, but his powers are known to have been immense, and may have slowed or even halted his aging so that he did not feel the need to pass down his position. It is believed he married the princess with the intention of preventing her from having children as well. However, the Lorulean royal line continued in secret, originating with the princess's younger sister."

Link and Zelda exchanged a glance. They'd always assumed that their lineage was a direct path backward to the first monarch, and only now did Zelda realize how ridiculous that was after over a thousand years. Judging from Link's expression, he must have felt the same way.

The instructor remained oblivious to their surprise, continuing, "The people waited, but Vaati was the first threat since the Triforce had been destroyed, and no hero rose to save the land. Eventually, the newest generation of Maidens and the aged princess combined their powers to make some great sacrifice and seal him in the Shrine of the Picori Blade once more. Nothing of the ritual is known, and any artifacts involved have been destroyed by now."

Zelda shut her mouth at first, her question having been answered, but almost immediately thought of another. "So… Vaati's just been sealed again? He still isn't dead?"

"Unfortunately not," said the instructor, and Zelda blinked a few times. No wonder Telari hadn't wanted to tell her which shrine. "However, the Triforce has been recently restored, and with it the light that brings heroes. Should Vaati rise again, which is highly unlikely now that almost a thousand years have passed, he will undoubtedly be vanquished once more."

"But if he  _does_ come back," persisted Zelda, unable to resist bringing up her new favorite point of argument, "the Triforce is ripe for the taking. You'd just have to walk into the Sacred Realm and touch it to make a wish! That's what started the Eldest War in the first place!" Upon her thirteenth birthday, she and Link were at long last permitted to see the Triforce in person. Link had been appropriately awed, but Zelda had found herself appalled at how easy it might be for some villain to seize it. She would have used its wish to seal it off herself had she not been afraid of what might happen if she was deemed unworthy.

The instructor frowned. "It is no simple matter to walk into the Sacred Realm."

"It's  _Vaati_ ," pointed out Zelda, though her thoughts were of the Mage's Cap and the abilities it had given him. With his drive to obtain even the last fragments of the Triforce's power, there was no way he would pass up the Triforce itself. Even if it destroyed him, he could cause unthinkable damage. "He's really strong. So strong that he can walk between worlds and rule Lorule twice, and it takes some kind of sacrifice to seal him away!"

"Walk between worlds?" echoed the instructor disbelievingly, and Zelda realized with a jolt that the Minish and their world were widely regarded as folklore, if they were known at all. "This has gone far enough, Your Highness. Now please, settle down and focus on the rest of the lesson. We are about to discuss the repercussions of the missing Triforce during that age, and how this darkening environment contributed to Vaati's multiple rises to power."

Zelda shot a resentful glance at Link, who was staring fixedly at his paper. Even after seeing for himself how vulnerable the Triforce was, he'd always refused to back her up in that particular argument. She had never understood why not. Not everyone could be expected to understand that leaving it alone was the only thing healing their broken world, and once its positive effects were less visible, anyone with enough power and dedication could take advantage and seize the throne.

Just like Vaati had already done twice, even without a Triforce to help him along.

Zelda hung her head and tried to concentrate on the next part of the lesson, but instead, her mind fixed itself on the Mage's Cap—not as a threat, as usual, but rather as a solution. If it could grant any wish at all, then she could use it to seal away the Triforce like she'd heard they had done in Hyrule. That way, her country would stay safe forever, instead of just for now.

Of course, _obtaining_ the Mage's Cap would be another story. Given that it had never been spoken of apart from its role in Vaati's story, and Zelda's people didn't appear to know of it at all, he must still have it in his possession. (Perhaps that was even the key to his survival.) And, given that Zelda now knew where exactly he had been sealed, the only real obstacle to getting what she wanted was Vaati's strength.

It would probably take years before she'd be ready to face such a powerful sorcerer, but she had already started showing an aptitude for light magic. And if Vaati was as weak to light as the Minish suggested… well, then perhaps this would be doable after all. Just as she had received the Minish Door for her fifth birthday, the Mage's Cap would make another such perfect gift. Not this year, but someday, hopefully soon.

Zelda smiled faintly. Time to start planning the party.


	2. The Shrine of the Picori Blade

"Zel… I'm  _really_ not sure this is a good idea."

Link had never been especially eloquent, but this specific statement was even more clumsily spoken than usual. It seemed as though his tentative remark practically stumbled through the air towards Zelda's irritated ears, shattering several minutes' worth of priceless silence. Struggling not to roll her eyes, she pursed her lips and marched resolutely forward. The longer she could ignore her brother, the better.

It would have been  _so_  much easier just to leave him in the castle. Except, Zelda supposed, then she'd be short one Master Sword. She needed it to ensure her success, and it wasn't as though she could just borrow it for the day. After all, the myths all told her in no uncertain terms that only the one with the spirit of the hero would be able to wield it. The divine blade would feed on the energy of anyone less worthy, to the point of exhaustion… or worse.

For all her lifelong love of legends, Zelda had initially had some difficulty believing that her twin brother was a chosen hero, while she was only a princess, but that was before she tried to take the sword for herself all those years ago. She had felt little fear as she lay helplessly on the chapel floor, all her limited strength depleted. Rather, she remembered only a burning curiosity, a thirst for more knowledge: if  _that_  one of Telari's tales was true, then the others must be, too. She was right after all.

Link cleared his throat, and Zelda sighed heavily. The silent treatment evidently had no pacifying effect on Link's needless concern. "You worry too much," she said, looking back at him briefly. He had inherited altogether too much of their father's personality.

"No, I worry exactly the right amount," countered Link with surprising immediacy, and Zelda frowned slightly. When was the last time Link had picked a fight with her? (A non-physical fight, she amended to herself, recalling with some pleasure her overwhelming triumph during their training session last week.)

"The seal has been weakening for centuries," Zelda pointed out matter-of-factly, paraphrasing the thorough notes she'd left in her bedroom. If she had known Link would object so strongly, she might have considered making him read them. "By releasing him voluntarily this time instead of letting him break out on his own, we at least have a fighting chance of doing some damage control."

"But Zel, once he's awake—well, you've  _heard_  how he gets," said Link, and she glanced over her shoulder once more to find his eyes wide. Fear made her brother look much younger; he didn't look anything like a hero should, divinely bestowed sword notwithstanding. "It's not like we have the power to stop him if he doesn't cooperate."

"Your Master Sword and my Light Arrows say otherwise," said Zelda, giving him a smile. On the few occasions when they worked together, they made a truly formidable team. Really, it was too bad they had so little cause to do so in everyday life. But then,  _that_  may well change today.

"Even so, I don't like this," said Link, and Zelda narrowed her eyes. If his added support meant listening to his whining the whole way to the shrine, she'd honestly rather perish at the hands of the wind mage. "At  _all_." His tone was insistent, as though she had somehow missed his all-too-clear feelings on the matter.

Zelda stopped short, smirking as Link crashed into her with a startled exclamation, and graciously allowed her brother a moment to recover before she turned to face him. "Then go back to the castle." She delivered the command as evenly as possible, crossing her arms and looking him in the eye—daring him to obey.

There was a pause, during which Link visibly wavered, ruffling his already untidy purple hair and awkwardly readjusting the scabbard on his back. He may have had the advantage of height by a few inches, but fortunately for Zelda, this never seemed to afford him much confidence in a confrontation.

Sure enough, he dropped his gaze in a gesture of submission before too long, though his deep red eyes were narrowed in displeasure. "You're my  _sister_ ," said Link eventually, and Zelda relaxed slightly as she recognized her latest victory. "I can't just leave you."

"Okay, then stop complaining," said Zelda, turning around again and marching forward once more. Her brother no longer had any reason to protest; she had offered him the chance to turn back, and he had refused to take it. Now he was tagging along of his own volition.

"I'll complain as much as I want," muttered Link, and though Zelda had her doubts about whether she was supposed to hear him, she felt her limited patience unraveling still further. "You're trying to resurrect a demon!"

Zelda narrowed her eyes, glaring at nothing. Hadn't he listened to her plan at  _all_? She wasn't about to bring back the most notorious mage in history for her own amusement, thank you very much! Waking him was only necessary because he happened to be in possession of the only artifact which could grant her the power necessary to protect the Triforce: the Mage's Cap.

"I told you about this idea when we were thirteen years old, Link," snapped Zelda, clenching her fists and kicking a small rock out of the way in frustration. And besides, she added to herself sourly, a wind mage—however monstrous—hardly qualified as a demon. "Why are you only nagging me about it  _now_?"

"I… didn't think you were actually going to go through with it," confessed Link, sounding vaguely ashamed, but there was an unusually accusatory edge to his voice, and his countenance had darkened: the storm was about to break.

"So you thought I was joking for five whole years," said Zelda, shaking her head. Link was far sharper than most other people she'd met, and he knew her better than anyone else. He usually recognized her feelings even before she was aware of them herself. It was impossible that he should fail to recognize genuine determination.

Link gave a light, barely audible sigh that sounded a bit more like a growl. "Not really, but I figured you'd be smarter about it than this."

How could he say such a thing? After all those years of careful study—after all those investigations to discern truth from myth—how dare he imply that she was unprepared! "And just what is  _that_  supposed to mean?" she demanded, turning to face her brother once more with a scowl, and brushed her dark hair out of her face. "I've done my research on his strengths and weaknesses, as well as ours! I've even beaten you in training!"

Zelda took an indignant step towards Link, but he stood his ground, glaring at her for the first time. Clearly, Zelda had struck a nerve by mentioning their sparring sessions. "Yeah, but you're still purposely unleashing Lorule's most powerful enemy, just so you can take his  _hat_."

"It's necessary," snapped Zelda, glowering back at Link as she crossed her arms. The Triforce was all too easy to access; she had been able to sneak in to see it many times before. It was true that the world healed faster for as long as the path between planes remained open, but it would be a great deal safer if it were sealed. Why had Link always refused to see that?

"It isn't!" retorted Link, and their red eyes locked for a moment. "Look, if you're  _so_  intent on saving the Triforce, why don't you just use its wish to seal off the Sacred Realm, or whatever? That way, you won't have to release any demons, and the world will be safe." He rolled his eyes, gesticulating upwards with unusual vehemence. "There! Problem solved. Can we go home now?"

"You think using the Triforce wasn't the  _first_ thing I considered?" shot back Zelda. "They say you have to have a balanced heart to make a wish, or it'll break apart. I don't know if my heart is balanced, but I'm not about to find out the hard way." Judging from the way Link was acting, she had clearly made the right decision. If her own brother, the chosen hero of the heavens, saw her as unstable, then it was highly unlikely the Triforce's opinion would be any different.

When Link said nothing, Zelda sighed. "As dangerous as it is to keep the complete Triforce at our fingertips," she continued, turning around and stalking resolutely onward with renewed vigor, "it's probably even riskier to split it up."

"But there's no need to take matters into your own hands like this," insisted Link. "Why don't you trust Mother and Father to make the right decision? If they decide to seal the Triforce, they're going to wait until Lorule is more fully healed before slowing the process down like that. Their choice should be good enough for you."

Zelda rolled her eyes. Her parents had turned a blind eye to the Triforce's vulnerability all her life, and didn't seem to realize that it would stay that way for all the years it would take for Lorule to heal. Had they learned nothing from their country's past? Peace never reigned for long amidst such temptation. "Our enemies won't just wait for Lorule to regain its glory."

" _What_  enemies?"

"Look," said Zelda, glowering, "the Master Sword would have ignored you if you weren't supposed to use it someday. But instead, you've been marked as a hero, which means Lorule isn't safe.  _We're_ not safe."

"Yeah, you're right," agreed Link, but there was too much spite in his voice for his words to be genuine. "Probably because you're about to release a demon! And," he added, raising his voice to cut Zelda off as she opened her mouth—" _and_ , Lorule is the only real country in the whole world right now, so don't start talking to me about enemies."

"You don't need to be part of a country to be an enemy," muttered Zelda, casting suspicious glances around at the trees as though they might be listening in—bright summer leaves whispering conspiratorially amongst themselves with the breath of the breeze.

"Hylia, you're paranoid," grumbled Link, shaking his head.

It was all too clear that he didn't believe her, just like the rest of the court. " _Hylia_  doesn't exist," said Zelda, walking a little faster just to spite the goddess. That was the only myth she flatly refused to believe, because there was absolutely no proof. The whole half-forgotten religion was just a series of fables, meant to suppress rebellion by explaining why the Lorulean royal family had the divine right to rule.

"And cynical," said Link, attempting to make light of the situation—clearly hoping to change her mind through a different, gentler tactic. He might catch more flies with honey, but Princess Zelda of Lorule was by  _no_ means a mere fly. "That's not a very good combination for the crown princess."

Zelda narrowed her eyes. Ordinarily, playing that card worked wonders, but not today. Today, she wouldn't have to be ladylike to be the perfect princess. Saving the kingdom required a different skillset altogether, including a ready willingness to doubt the information she was given. "Or maybe it is, and  _you're_  just soft."

"I just… don't understand why you think we have so many enemies," said Link quietly, abandoning his attempt at winning Zelda over with humor. The rustling of the leaves in a stronger breeze almost drowned out his words, and there was a somewhat uneasy silence as they glanced up at the trees above.

"The Triforce has the power to grant any wish, and if Mother and Father aren't going to use it, then someone else will," said Zelda, making an effort not to raise her voice this time. Just as humor hadn't gotten Link anywhere, assertiveness wasn't getting her anywhere. "It's only logical."

Link let out a somewhat forced chuckle as Zelda followed a fork in the road. "Zel, the Triforce has been here twenty years, and no one's even tried."

Oh, that was  _it_. No one laughed at Zelda's ideas. "Don't you understand?" she asked, clenching her fists with the force of her passion. "There can be no true peace while a power that great remains in our hands! As soon as they think Lorule can function without it, even our own people could turn against us. It'll be the Eldest War all over again."

For a long time, there was silence, but for the rustle of the leaves. As much as Zelda had enjoyed it earlier, it now made her uneasy. More than she initially thought, she needed Link to agree with her and say he understood. For almost as long as Zelda could remember, no one had agreed with her or even saw her point, regarding her as paranoid and rash. Knowing once and for all that Link shared their opinion hurt more than anticipated.

"I… suppose I see your point, but I still think you're being reckless," said Link eventually, his tone somewhat grudging, and heaved a sigh as they trudged steadily upwards. "This isn't like you."

"It isn't?" asked Zelda, stopping short at the top of the slope to catch her breath, and raised her eyebrows as she turned towards Link. "I was always under the impression that I was a rebellious troublemaker."

"Well, you're not like that in public," said Link, and the corner of Zelda's mouth tugged up despite herself. "Even in private, your risks are usually a  _lot_  more calculated than this." He shifted in place, glancing from side to side uncomfortably. "I just don't think you understand the situation you're getting into well enough to make a wise decision."

"And I suppose you'll tell me you know better than I do?" asked Zelda, turning to follow the path once more.

"Of course not," said Link, sounding genuinely surprised. "But frankly, it scares me that you're willing to disrupt this precarious balance and endanger the entire world… for the sake of a hat." He paused, and Zelda felt his fiery eyes scorch the back of her head. "Which, by the way,  _still_  isn't necessary."

"Link, even if I took your advice and backed down, the fact remains that the seal is only getting weaker," said Zelda wearily. "He'll break it himself someday—maybe even soon, since it's been so long. It's an inevitability." She rallied her determination, following the winding path still farther up the hill. "I'm just going to make it happen on  _my_  terms instead of his."

"Why can't we just strengthen the seal?" asked Link desperately, striding forward to walk alongside her.

Zelda fixed her gaze straight ahead of her, refusing to give in to her brother's questioning stare. "No one even knows how this seal was created, so it probably can't be repaired by normal means," she said, her voice shaking slightly with her upward footsteps. "The Shrine Maidens made some sort of sacrifice to keep him locked away, remember? And sacrifices are always tricky."

"So I assume that means the only real way to fix it is to sacrifice yourself too?"

"I haven't found a definitive answer, but that seems likely," said Zelda dispassionately. "Besides, if we prolong his captivity, then I won't be able to get his cap. Then the Triforce will remain vulnerable, and he'll be able to get it even  _more_  easily when he returns."

"I still don't understand why you think bringing back the greatest potential threat to the Triforce is going to help you protect it," snapped Link.

"Haven't you ever heard the phrase ' _The ends justify the means_ '?" countered Zelda, rounding another corner and privately thanking whatever higher powers there might have been that she had been born first. If Link was crown prince, he'd never be able to live up to the expectations of a Lorulean monarch the way  _she_  could.

Link groaned, raising a hand lightly to his forehead. "Zel, you're beginning to sound like a villain."

Zelda grimaced at the implications. She was more of a hero than her brother; how much of a divine champion could he be if he never tried to save the world? " _Please_ , Link. You're my brother. Trust shouldn't be too much to ask of you."

"I'd trust you more if I loved you less."

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Zelda, finally coming to a stop to catch her breath, and searched her brother's face carefully. His countenance was less angry than she imagined, instead full of fierce affection and worry in equal measure. (Perhaps he did look a little like a hero after all.)

Link let out a long exhalation through his teeth, his eyes fixed intently on a point somewhere behind Zelda. "If I didn't feel so responsible for your safety, it would affect me less if something went wrong."

Zelda could say nothing to that. She only searched Link's face for a few moments and then marched resolutely forward once again, turning her mind to their destination. Based on her solo expedition into the forest a few weeks ago, they had only a couple more turns to take before they finally arrived at their destination.

"What if he takes you away somewhere?" demanded Link, hustling indignantly after her at last. "What if I never see you again?"

"Then I guess I'll be the queen of demons," said Zelda, a smile playing on her lips as she quickened her pace, turning the final corner. There it was, humming with ancient magical energy—the shrine!

Link grasped Zelda's wrist suddenly, pulling her backwards and spinning her around to face him. As she stared up into his burning eyes, she was reminded that her brother may have been shy and meek most of the time, but he was still undeniably strong. " _Seriously_ , Zel," he said, looking her intently in the eye, and squeezed her shoulders. "I need to know that you've thought this through."

Zelda pursed her lips, glancing away. "If anything happens, I'll send you a telepathic message about my situation as soon as possible, and we'll strategize from there. But," she added, brushing Link's hands away and stepping back, "that's not going to be necessary."

"If you say so," muttered Link, glancing apprehensively up at the crumbling stone archway that marked the Shrine of the Picori Blade. His every muscle seemed rigid, and he stepped forward as gingerly as if the ground would drop away beneath his feet, gripping the hilt of the Master Sword.

"Don't  _worry_  so much," said Zelda, coming to a halt in front of the sword itself, sheathed in stone. So this was the infamous wind mage, sealed in his own broken blade—soon to be released. "You'll see. Everything will turn out fine."

 


	3. Shadows and Shapes

Okay, so maybe it was something of a risk to send a telepathic message directly into the soul of an extremely powerful sorcerer—but in all fairness, it would be even more dangerous to draw his sword without even trying to contact him first. With any luck, Zelda would be able to get some sort of leverage against him if she spoke with him beforehand.

She shivered as an icy wind wrapped suddenly around her shoulders, hissing like a sharp inhalation. Opening her eyes cautiously, Zelda realized that though her own ghostly form glowed with a faint light, the darkness all around her was utterly impenetrable. Trembling slightly, she hugged her arms instinctively closer to herself to keep warm. So  _this_  was Vaati's consciousness…

"Who dares cast such forceful light into these ancient shadows?"

Zelda jumped as a deep and powerful yet somehow distorted voice surrounded her. The sorcerer's presence stirred around her, and eyes seemed to burn into her from all directions, but she swallowed her sudden fear and looked up, unsure where else to turn her blind gaze. "I am Princess Zelda of Lorule," she announced, as steadily as possible. Most souls shone white, or misty gray, but they were never so dark that she could not see.

Her own light did not travel far enough for her to tell whether anything else existed in this emptiness, but she could still sense the shadows swirling as if in surprise. "Why have you entered my sanctuary,  _Princess_?" asked Vaati, his voice accompanied by another cold current. Whether her eyes were adjusting to the darkness or not, Zelda couldn't tell, but she thought the blackness lightened a little at the mention of her title, revealing inky clouds like a storm in the night.

"I seek the Mage's Cap," said Zelda uncertainly. The end of her statement turned up slightly, as if it wanted to be a question, and she cursed herself for the slip-up. If she didn't assert herself now, she had no chance of winning the esteem of a being so powerful as Vaati.

Sure enough, he only chuckled, as if amused by the idea. "Idiot girl," he said, and his tone might have made Zelda angry if they hadn't sent chills down her spine. "I never could have been sealed away like this if I still had it."

Zelda's heart almost stopped, and she stared at nothing. "Then… where is it now?" she asked, voice faint and distant to her ears as her mind raced far ahead of her mouth. Every source she'd ever examined indicated that Vaati still possessed the Mage's Cap. If he didn't have it, how could she find it?

"I see no reason to tell you."

Hope flickered once more in Zelda's heart at the implication that he knew, and her light expanded slightly, though the shadows remained inscrutable. If she could only get the information out of him somehow… "If you do," said Zelda, her voice gaining strength, "I'll draw this sword and set you free."

The shadows stirred as if with renewed interest, and she felt Vaati's focus sharpen as if he were examining her more closely, more suspiciously. Oddly, the sensation was encouraging, and Zelda mustered a small smile. She'd gotten his attention, and that was the first step to earning his respect.

"Given a little more time," said Vaati eventually, thoughtfully, his presence relaxing again, "I could break the seal on my own." As he spoke, his voice became lighter, smoother—more persuasive than intimidating—and Zelda narrowed her eyes. There was a silent but clear invitation in his tone:  _make me an offer_.

"Then name your price." Whatever Vaati requested, Zelda would probably be able to convince him she could grant it. After all, as the crown princess, Zelda had spent most of her life cultivating an ability to persuade people of what they wanted to hear. (Lying, in other words.)

Vaati chuckled again, as if sensing her thoughts, and Zelda reminded herself too late that she was a guest in his mind. "To do so would be a fool's errand," he said, sounding much more amused than angry as she anticipated. "You are not bound to make good on any agreements between us."

Glowering grudgingly, Zelda paced forward. Feeling out with her mind, she tried to locate the center of Vaati's consciousness so she could level the playing field by facing him, but he seemed to be formless, omniscient. "That's… true, I suppose, but—"

"What would a human want with the Mage's Cap?" interrupted Vaati suspiciously, though there was a surprising undercurrent of dry curiosity in his voice. "I wasn't aware that any of your kind knew of its existence, let alone its true name."

Zelda bit her lip; it was high time she gave Vaati a taste of his own medicine. It may be a risk, but she knew he couldn't destroy her in this form without great cost to himself. "I see no reason to tell you," she said pointedly, wishing she could look him in the eye. All too aware of her unseemly insolence, she braced herself for the brunt of Vaati's infamous wrath, but he only laughed. (Zelda frowned slightly: he acted nothing like the ballads proclaimed.)

"In any case," said Vaati, his voice coiling unnervingly around her like a great dark snake, "my freedom for my cap is hardly an equal trade."

Zelda squinted into the restless shadows, uncomfortably claustrophobic, and took a deep breath. She would actually have preferred overt displays of fury to subtle intimidation. "What  _would_  you consider a fair trade, then?" she asked, redirecting her abundant nervous energy into as ferocious a glare as possible.

A breeze brushed past her ears, carrying whispers that might have been indistinct thoughts, before the winds stilled abruptly; the space around her seemed to become much cooler. " _If_  you're so intent on bargaining, I want the Mage's Cap returned to me. Not that I believe for a moment you'll actually do it," he added in a mutter, sounding almost as though he spoke only to himself.

Zelda raised an eyebrow, pursing her lips. "I can't give you the Mage's Cap in exchange for information on where to find it," growled Zelda, anxiety turning temporarily to annoyance. "That's just ridiculous." And inadvisable, she continued, in thoughts she hoped were private.

"Indeed," agreed Vaati, suddenly serious. "But  _telling_  you won't be necessary." Shadows shifted all around Zelda, and her light dimmed along with her courage, despite her best efforts to keep it up. "I can lead you to it."

And then keep it for himself so he could take over Lorule a second time?  _No thank you_. "That's not exactly a fair trade, either," returned Zelda, crossing her arms and staring upwards. If the only payment he would accept was the Mage's Cap itself, there was no way she could lie about handing it over.

"No?" asked Vaati disinterestedly, his presence billowing away from her like a cape in the wind. "That's too bad."

Narrowing her eyes, Zelda contemplated the ways in which she could possibly hold his slippery attention. "I  _could_  always take you captive and force the information out of you," she remarked, keeping her tone as light and conversational as possible.

Vaati's movements halted halfway through the sentence, but there was no time for Zelda to feel victorious. As soon as the last word left her mouth, her shadowy surroundings turned deathly cold, and she gave an involuntary gasp at the sudden shift in temperature. "Is that a threat, Princess?" asked Vaati softly, dangerously, the last syllable a menacing hiss.

Zelda shivered helplessly as a chill gripped her, but forced her heart to slow down. "I prefer to use the word 'possibility'," she said, though she could not keep her voice from trembling slightly.

Vaati's low laugh rumbled like thunder through dusky clouds. It was all too clear that he didn't believe her, which came as no surprise whatsoever. At this point, she felt more like a shy little girl than the authoritative princess she was supposed to be. "I see," observed Vaati, the last remnants of his somewhat sinister laughter echoing gradually into silence. "Then we have nothing further to say to one another here."

His presence retreated slowly, gliding away through the unfathomable darkness, and Zelda moved to pursue him, opening her mouth to protest—but she was forced to stop and protect herself as the scattered shadows swept around her, threatening to extinguish her flickering light. When the dark smoke cleared, she could no longer sense Vaati's presence, nor even tell which way he had gone in this directionless void.

Stamping her foot frustratedly, Zelda clenched her fists and thought a few choice curses as loudly as she could in the hopes of drawing him out: much to her dismay, nothing happened. But just as she was about to admit defeat and let herself dissolve, a frigid breeze carried Vaati's final words to her ears, and she found herself shivering one last time: "You need only draw my sword to meet me face-to-face, and then, you can try to make those  _possibilities_  a reality."

Zelda's physical eyes flew open in panic, and she immediately groaned and squeezed them shut again, unused to the sudden daylight. However, as she opened them again slowly, she found that the sky had actually clouded over—and if the ominous thunder rolling in the distance was anything to go by, a storm was coming.

A gentle touch on her shoulder distracted her; she jumped, glancing back to find Link steadying her with concern in his eyes. "Zel," he said quietly, a hint of hope in his light voice. (She hadn't realized how much she'd missed his presence until he spoke.) "We don't have to do this."

Zelda took a deep breath, clearing her mind, and shook her head, readjusting her grip on the hilt of the Picori Blade—glancing briefly up at the sky as the first few heavy drops of rain plummeted down. "Sorry, Link," she said, meeting her brother's disappointed eyes with some difficulty, "but… we've come too far to stop now."

Link only bowed his head, his red gaze hardening, and said nothing; Zelda struggled to suppress her guilt. Pacing around to the other side of the pedestal, Link drew the Master Sword, which gleamed silver in the waning sunlight. Inhaling slowly, Zelda counted down from three on her fingers; the rain quickened and thickened, as though sensing her intent.

It was now or never…

She yanked upwards with all her strength, letting out a battle cry, and the world seemed to slow down. As though her body's actions were beyond her control, Zelda found herself raising the sword to the sky. A bolt of lightning surged into it as deafening thunder rattled her body and soul, drowning out her instinctive scream.

Even after the flash ebbed back into stormy darkness, the Picori Blade blazed blindingly bright in Zelda's trembling grasp, as though all its energy was stored within the blade. Its broken tip was replaced with crackling light, and she wondered fleetingly how she was still alive after such a powerful strike. Perhaps she had been spared because all its ample electrical energy seemed to be trapped inside the blade somehow?

Adrenaline kicking in at the possibility of her imminent death by electrocution, Zelda tried desperately to unclench her fingers from around the hilt—but soon realized, as if in a nightmare, that her muscles were locked in place against her will so that she could not move. "Link!" she managed to cry, but her brother only focused on the sword in her hand, poised to attack should a more obvious threat present itself.

He didn't have long to wait: the glowing energy seeped downward like melting liquid, spilling over Zelda's hands, and her eyes widened. It wasn't at all wet, but soft and warm, and felt  _alive_ , a faint pulse like a heartbeat growing ever stronger within it.

It flowed down into open air like a sheet of molten light, but it didn't fall towards the earth as she expected. Instead, it extended sideways, slowly shaping itself into an arm whose hand still grasped the hilt. Zelda jumped, startled, as she noticed the Master Sword slice through it; she had not noticed Link circling around. But the liquid only reconnected to itself, smooth and unbroken, as soon as the blade passed through.

Zelda thought she heard Vaati's distinctive laugh at her brother's failure, but it seemed higher in pitch now, less monstrous. Glaring at his helplessness, Link kept his sword at the ready, watching carefully as the rest of a largely featureless Hylian body was formed. Zelda gasped as the liquid darkened to a deep purple from the fingers outward, becoming distinctly more solid.

In response to her involuntary utterance, Link plunged the Master Sword into where the figure's heart might be and held it there, unmoving. The world shook with thunder, as if in anger or warning, but the process was by no means halted. Red, gold, and lighter shades of violet rippled across the newly created body, twisting and turning into skin and markings, hair and eyes, garments and accessories.

Eventually, only the patch immediately surrounding the Master Sword remained in its original, semi-fluid state, and the rest of it had become a fully clothed male Hylian body—but Zelda's attention was more focused on relaxing her rigid muscles, to no avail. "Link," she said, struggling to make herself heard over the thunder, "I don't think I'll be able to move… till you stand down."

Link narrowed his eyes as if considering his alternatives, but could think of none, and finally slid the sword out. As the last remnant of light finally darkened and solidified, all the strength went abruptly out of Zelda's limbs. Dropping the sword, she collapsed onto her side with a weak cry, shaking from head to toe, and squeezed her eyes shut—but they flew open again as she registered a slick sort of sound, followed by a guttural gasp.

Through her unfocused gaze, Zelda first noticed the newly reborn Vaati (a blur of purple, gold, and red) clutching wide-eyed at the Master Sword, once again buried in his incomplete heart. He tried to stagger backwards, out of range, but Link caught him by the collar of his cape and dragged him closer, sliding the blade in to the hilt and twisting it slightly. He spasmed, but either could not or would not fight back.

Zelda's exhausted eyes closed suddenly without her consent, and tried to open them again, but to no avail. She felt her consciousness slipping away, but even as the darkness washed over her like the rain, she could still hear her brother's quiet and furious voice: "Don't you  _ever_ hurt Zelda like that again."

 


	4. Recovery

Zelda didn't realize she stood in a dream until she recognized her own body.

The world was moving so slowly it seemed frozen at first. Link's eyes were wide with fury, Vaati's with astonishment, as her brother planted his foot securely on his enemy's chest and kicked him backwards. As Zelda watched him slide the Master Sword out of the wind mage's body and stomp him into the ground, hard, everything sped back up to normal, and she crept closer to the scene after a wary hesitation.

After ensuring that Vaati was not feigning unconsciousness—which he wasn't, to her simultaneous satisfaction and slight consternation—Link knelt next to his motionless sister, raising her wrist to feel for a pulse, and soon smiled in relief. "Thank Hylia," he breathed, touching his forehead to her hand, then frowned as he glanced between her body and Vaati's. Zelda could practically hear his troubled thoughts:  _now what_?

It took a moment for Link to determine the most effective method of transport as he paced around the shrine, but eventually, his expression brightened along with the gradually clearing sky. He hauled his sister's limp body onto his back, leaning forward to balance her as he used one hand to drag Vaati behind them by the cape.

Zelda scowled as she watched Link trudge back down the trail with herself and the ashen Vaati in tow, but she was far more worried than angry. Had her brother seriously killed their only chance of finding the Mage's Cap?

"Well played, Princess," purred Vaati's voice behind Zelda, startling her, and she whirled around to find him leaning on the Picori Blade like some sort of cane. Zelda narrowed her eyes as she took in his appearance. Apparently, his skin was deathly pale to begin with, and even seemed to be tinged violet, though perhaps that was just the eerie light of the fading storm.

They looked one another up and down, Zelda's confusion growing with her every observation. Was this really the same Vaati who had taken over her kingdom all those centuries ago? Standing about as tall as Link, but certainly no taller, he was surprisingly effeminate in his features, and more slender than muscular. His hair was almost as long as Zelda's, but a good deal lighter in shade, covering his right eye (the left of which glimmered red). A strange black marking was emblazoned on his exposed cheekbone. The only distinctly  _monstrous_  feature she could identify was his slightly pointed canines, and those weren't especially intimidating.

Most disturbing was actually the fact that Vaati didn't look like the ghosts she'd spoken with in dreams before. He was decidedly solid, and his aura of aliveness strong. So he had survived after all, and was apparently contacting her telepathically. Whether that was good or bad remained to be seen.

"There's no need to look at me like that," remarked Vaati, raising his visible eyebrow coolly as he crossed his arms, and Zelda realized suddenly that she was glaring at him. "I want to talk to you, and you haven't come to see me yet. I am not a patient man, and I do believe this is as good a place as any for a meeting."

"No, it's not," she countered, clenching her fists. This was  _her_  dream-space, and Vaati had absolutely no right to intrude; trying desperately not to think of her hypocrisy, having invaded his mind without his consent not too long ago, Zelda met his eyes as ferociously as she dared. "Go away!"

Vaati only raised his visible eyebrow. "If you insist," he said, casually unsheathing the Picori Blade from its latest home in the mud. "But you can't avoid me forever, and you know it. I advise you not to keep me waiting much longer." He gave a wicked grin, shifting the hilt in his hand, and Zelda cried out and jumped back as he lunged at her suddenly—

Zelda's eyes shot open, and she sat bolt upright. Looking around frantically, she noticed that Link was seated on the bed next to her, and took a deep, shuddering breath as she recognized that she was safe. "I'm fine," she said immediately, but her voice sounded breathless even to herself, and Link nudged her down again with a light touch.

"Don't push yourself," said Link with unusual intensity, concern weighing heavily in gentle red eyes. "As far as I can tell, Vaati used your strength to resurrect himself. You're lucky to be alive right now, let alone awake." He cupped her hands in his, palms hot and moist as though he'd been clenching his fists in worry.

"But… he wants to see me," protested Zelda weakly, pulling her hand away from his. Couldn't her brother understand how important this was? Mere mortals such as themselves were in  _no_  position to delay this meeting. Vaati may have been in a weakened state, but he was still very much alive. "Where is he?"

"In the dungeons," said Link, and she moved as quickly as she could, trying desperately to dodge past her brother and run for the door, but he caught both her wrists as soon as she started moving. " _No_  no no no. You're not getting up to see him right now."

Zelda frowned, realizing for the first time how absolutely exhausted her brother looked. There were dark circles under his eyes, and even as she watched him, he barely stifled a yawn. "How long was I…?" she tried to ask, but his yawn was contagious, and she was cut off before she could finish the sentence.

"The rest of yesterday, and all last night," said Link, and though he said nothing about whether he had stayed with her the whole time, Zelda strongly suspected he had. "Mother and Father are worried sick, but furious too." They both sighed, sharing a small smile as they acknowledged their accidental simultaneity, but Link's brow furrowed again before too long. "Honestly, I… I think you'll be lucky if you're still a princess when they're through with you."

Zelda blinked, startled. "That bad, huh?" Oops. Even her backup plan had involved at least being conscious enough to explain herself, which she was sure would mitigate her inevitable punishment at least a little. The way things had turned out instead… well, things weren't looking too good.

" _Yeah_ , that bad!" exclaimed Link, with surprising vehemence. Zelda flinched, and Link took a deep breath, calming himself before continuing. "You almost got yourself killed bringing back the most dangerous demon in history, without  _any_  explanation to them. I tried to talk to them, but they weren't exactly happy with me either." He leaned forward, hiding his face in his hands. "Oh, and by the way," he added bitterly, voice muffled slightly by his fingers, "Vaati's also some kind of Houghini. No ordinary chains can hold him."

"I thought you said he was in the dungeons!"

"He  _is_ ," said Link, letting out a long breath, and dropped his hands back to his legs. "He's just staying there voluntarily. We've all tried talking to him, even Father, but he's said that he won't meet with anyone except you." Suspicion glimmered in his eyes, but he said nothing further.

"Then let me see him," said Zelda, scooting back gingerly to sit up again. Her every muscle ached in protest, and she grimaced, but did not stop. " _Please_."

"Mother and Father said I should bring them here as soon as you awakened," said Link, frowning, but there was a note of uncertainty in his voice. Clearly, if he hadn't already left to fetch their parents, he already had some doubts. (That, or he just knew she'd make a break for it in his absence.)

"Look, I may as well do all the things I'm going to get in trouble for  _before_ I see them," said Zelda, somewhere between exasperated and worried. "That way, they can get mad at me for everything at once. Besides," she added, raising her voice slightly as Link opened his mouth to make some sort of retort, "after I see Vaati… well, there may not be much of me left to yell at."

"For the love of Hylia, Zel, don't say that like it's nothing!" snapped Link, shoving Zelda's shoulder none too gently. She yelped in pain as her muscles spasmed, and her brother looked momentarily sorry, withdrawing his hand and staring at the floor. "You almost died. You almost  _died_ for the sake of a hat, and you're willing to do it again. Why?"

If trying to protect the Triforce wasn't a good enough reason, Zelda didn't know what to tell him. "Sorry," she muttered instead, and Link glanced up in wordless acceptance of her apology, but quickly returned his gaze to the floor. (It was difficult to tell which was stonier.) "I shouldn't have said that. What I  _mean_  is, Mother and Father will never let me see Vaati in the first place if I talk to them first."

"So give me three good reasons why  _I_  should."

"You can come with me," said Zelda, but the end of the sentence turned up like a question. Ordinarily, she was a much better liar than this; had she just blown her own cover? She held her breath as Link narrowed his eyes in suspicious contemplation.

"All right," said Link eventually. He still didn't sound completely convinced, but even reluctant acceptance was still valid. "Two more."

"Vaati told me not to keep him waiting in a threatening tone of voice," Zelda said, a little more confidently this time—possibly because this one was actually true. "It's  _probably_  not a good idea to ignore him."

"Right," muttered Link, as if he'd prefer not to think about it too much. "One more?" She could feel the dread in her brother's words now, as though he sensed his imminent defeat. It was the same gloomy realization that weighed down his actions at the end of most of their duels.

Zelda pursed her lips. She did have one last good point, but this one would only make Link worry more. "Vaati's… not as strong as once he was. The Mage's Cap is, well… apparently, it's gone missing."

The fury sparking in her brother's wide eyes seemed second only to his incredulity, and Zelda flinched automatically. She could count the times she'd seen him genuinely angry on one hand. "What?!" was the only word Link could utter, half-yelped, half-growled. Crossing his arms, tapping his fingers restlessly against his arm as if awaiting clarification.

"I  _said_ ," began Zelda after a short pause, her traditional sarcastic response activating (as usual) in place of the explanation she could not offer.

Her glaring brother was most definitely not amused. "I  _know_  what you said!" he snapped, and Zelda had never heard so much venom in his tone before. Uncrossing his arms, he leaned forward, meeting her eyes earnestly, and she shifted restlessly against the wall as if pinned there by his searching red gaze. "But doesn't that mean releasing him was a waste of time?"

"Not at all," said Zelda. "Vaati is still the only one who might know where the Mage's Cap actually is, so can we just go to the dungeons and  _ask_ him now?"

There was a brief pause, during which they continued their staring contest. Zelda swallowed quickly, looking away. As often as she won their duels, she could never hold Link's gaze in silence for longer than a few short moments. It was as if all the thoughts he did not voice were written in his eyes.

"Fine," muttered Link after an unbearably long pause, and now it was Zelda's turn to stare at him. Getting to his feet slowly, as if in exhaustion, he retrieved the Master Sword from its position leaning against the wall. Strapping the scabbard to his back, he whispered a few phrases that might have been a prayer—as though preparing for another battle. Zelda shivered; there was something eerie about such reverent sounds in the silence of daybreak.

Facing the bed again, Link finally threw back the covers, leaning forward so Zelda could curve an arm around his neck for added support. "I—I can't believe I'm saying this," he continued hesitantly, his words edged with a somewhat resigned sigh, "but… let's go talk to Vaati."

And, to Zelda's very great surprise, he braved a tiny smile as he picked her up.

* * *

"All right, put me down," said Zelda as they arrived at the spiral staircase extending down to the dungeons: Link halted abruptly, but swayed uncertainly in place, narrowing his eyes. "I can walk from here." Link sighed and shook his head disbelievingly, but acquiesced.

The descent was far slower than Zelda anticipated. Her legs didn't want to hold her, begging for bed, but she grit her teeth and forced herself to continue on without her brother's assistance. Vaati had to understand that she was a force to be reckoned with, even on her own. The only problem, and it was a big one, was how to convince her brother to leave her alone with him.

As Link and Zelda rounded the corner, reaching the bottom of the stairs at last, the guards—clearly on edge, perhaps due to the nature of their latest prisoner—jumped, clutching their pikes a little more tightly. They relaxed only when they observed the identities of their visitors, though the exact moment was hidden from Zelda like the guards' eyes behind their helms.

"I want to speak with the prisoner," announced Zelda, as authoritatively as she could while still needing to lean against the wall for support.

The guards exchanged an inscrutable glance, though she could not imagine how either could see the other's eyes. "But, Your Highness—"

" _Now_ ," snapped Zelda, crossing her arms, and she didn't even need to threaten them. Both guards jumped at her tone of voice and hastily moved to open the heavy wooden door. Narrowing her eyes as the guards fumbled with the keys, Zelda smiled faintly to herself, a new idea taking shape in her mind…

The sound of quick footsteps on the stairs distracted her, and Link rested his hand on the hilt of his sword, but relaxed slightly as a timid female voice spoke from the shadows. "Y-Your Highness?" asked a maid, stepping into the dim firelight. Zelda grit her teeth, preparing for a lecture—but the girl had been addressing Link.  _Perfect_ , she realized, struggling to suppress a smile.

"Her Majesty is getting impatient," said the maid softly, worried eyes flicking briefly in Zelda's direction before returning to her feet. "She tells me I should remind you that you are to fetch her, and the King, as soon as the Princess has awakened. She insists that there should be  _no_ detours…"

"I know," said Link, hiding his face in his hand in clear frustration. "I  _know_. But, listen…"

Zelda smiled lopsidedly as the guards finally fit the correct key in the lock and pushed the door slightly open. As Link tried to translate his thoughts into speech on short notice, she stepped forward, taking a deep breath—and then, she let herself stumble, ignoring the guards' remarks of concern. Clutching at the side of the door for support, Zelda subtly tugged out the ring of keys…

"Your Highness!" exclaimed the maidservant's frantic voice, and Link's gasp echoed in the hallway, but it was too late. As soon as Zelda passed through the crack, barely wide enough to accommodate her slender body, she shoved the door shut with all her might.

The very instant after it was closed and locked behind her, Link crashed into it from the other side, but even his considerable strength and that of the two guards, was no match for solid oak. " _Zelda_!" he yelled, his voice sounding both desperate and furious through the high barred window, and pounded both his fists on the door once in anguish.

Zelda smiled somewhat sadly, clutching the keys in her shaking fist. "Sorry, Link," she panted, leaning against the door with racing heart and trembling limbs, and there was another dull  _thud_  as though he had leaned his head against the door as well. "I've gotten you in enough trouble already." She paused, catching her breath, before another alarming thought struck her like lightning. "Did—did the maid run away?"

There was a tiny pause, perhaps while Link glanced backwards to check. "Yes," he groaned quietly, as if knowing what she would ask of him.

"Then go and catch her," said Zelda, hoping the magic word was evident in her voice. She couldn't afford to say more than necessary; in this situation, at least, it would be best to emulate her brother. The maid had undoubtedly gone to tell her parents, and it would be better for everyone if Zelda was allowed to talk to Vaati alone and uninterrupted.

"But—" began Link desperately.

" _Do it_!" bellowed Zelda, and he growled something under his breath. She almost thought he would ignore her, but then his footsteps retreated in a hurry. Whether her brother intended to obey her or betray her, Zelda wasn't about to wait around to find out. Until then, she thought determinedly… well, it was time for another little talk with Vaati.


	5. Conversation and Confrontation

"Ah, Princess Zelda," greeted Vaati from the shadows, a smile in his voice. Zelda halted some distance away, unpleasantly reminded of her time in his soul. She could barely see him until he got to his feet and stepped to the front of his cell, almost regally. He bowed like any Lorulean Knight, fist closed over his heart—assuming he actually had one. "You honor me with your presence."

"I—I would have expected the Stormbringer to bring more of a storm," managed Zelda after a short pause, clenching her fists weakly (trying, with limited success, to prevent her hands from shaking). "I may be weak, but I'm still alive. Why is that, I wonder?"

When Vaati merely chuckled in response, Zelda couldn't help raising her eyebrows in confused surprise. She had anticipated that the ballads had been exaggerating about his character, but outright lying seemed far more likely at this point. Where was that  _'temper as swift as a lightning bolt'_? "Straight to business, eh?" asked Vaati dryly, crossing his arms and tilting his head slightly. "You're nothing like your ancestors." He paused, showing off his slightly pointed cuspids in a white grin. "Thankfully."

"I… don't know what you're talking about."

"No, I suppose you wouldn't," said Vaati, a somewhat sly smile touching his lips. "But I don't know why you think I was holding back. It's only natural that my darkness should falter amidst your relentless light."

"You flatter us, Lord Vaati," said Zelda, employing what she had read to be his favored title. Vaati dipped his head and closed his eyes briefly, clearly pleased, and she allowed herself a quick smile. "I think your capture has more to do with the loss of the Mage's Cap." Vaati looked up again suddenly, sharply, and Zelda's heart seemed to stop for a second, but she forced herself to continue. "Y-you said yourself that you could never have been locked away if you still had it. But even like this, you are far from powerless." She scrutinized her prisoner through narrowed eyes. "Am I wrong?"

He grinned once more, this time reminiscently. "No."

"Yet… you're not using that power to escape," pressed Zelda, the tone of her sentence hovering between a question and a mere observation as her voice trembled along with the rest of her.

Fortunately, Vaati seemed to understand. "I would prefer to conserve my strength until I really need it," he said, fingering the hilt of the Picori Blade: Zelda had not initially noticed its presence beneath his cape, and eyed him with new wariness. "The last few times I overestimated my abilities without the Mage's Cap at my disposal… those failures are the reason for your existence. Had I succeeded instead, the kingdom would still be mine."

Zelda blinked, full of new questions— _what did you try to do_?—but restrained herself with difficulty, resolving to adhere to her original purpose. "How did you lose the Mage's Cap?"

"I'm not so careless as to  _lose_ my most precious possession," snapped Vaati, gripping the bars of his cell with both fists suddenly. Zelda jumped back, badly startled, and his countenance became smug as he continued more quietly, "It was stolen while I slept."

"Do you know who took it?" asked Zelda. Try as she might, she could not persuade her feet to approach again, so settled for looking Vaati in the eye instead. It took every ounce of her limited strength, but she succeeded.

"I was…  _felled_  the same day I realized it was gone," admitted Vaati sourly after a short silence, releasing the bars and pacing back and forth. "Though I had my suspicions, there was no time to check them." Vaati sighed, pausing as the barest hint of a resentful snarl tugged at his lip, before resuming his restless motion. "My opportunity to reclaim it came once I rose again. However, I was prevented from doing so, as I had to suppress a rebellion at the time."

As Vaati spoke of long-ago events as if they were still fresh in his mind, Zelda realized as if for the first time that they had been born centuries or even millennia apart—yet here they both stood, in the same place at the same time, talking as if it were normal. He didn't even look more than a decade older than her… nor, she supposed, did he act like it. "Tell me who you think took it," said Zelda, as boldly as she dared.

Halting, Vaati raised an eyebrow, examining the irrepressible earnestness in her expression carefully. "If you know of the Mage's Cap," he began, leaning against the bars, "then you must know of the Minish." He glanced at her sideways, and something in his expression told her that he was suppressing genuine interest in her response.

Zelda took a deep breath. Of  _course_  she'd heard of the Minish; she just hadn't thought much about them since they'd disappeared, the day after she first spoke to them of her plan to save the Triforce. Link didn't believe her at first, pointing to empty space and insisting that they were right there, until both of them were on the brink of frustrated tears. (After that, she barely spoke to her brother, until finally he told her he couldn't see them either—close to a month later.)

Taking another moment to deliberate, Zelda tried to gauge what the 'right' answer was. Doubtless the truth would benefit her most; it was more a matter of how she should phrase it. "It would make sense if your people decided to take it back," she said, in an attempt to corroborate Vaati's guess.

However, as Vaati turned his head abruptly to glare at her, Zelda flinched. A chill ran through her entire body as she noticed his red eyes had widened in anger, gleaming eerily in the dusky light of dawn, almost as if glowing on their own. "They are  _not_  my people, and they did not take it  _back_. That cap has always been mine, and mine alone. I'm the only one who has ever worn it."

Zelda frowned, swallowing. That didn't quite line up with the stories the Minish had told her when she was a girl. "But… didn't the sage Ezlo—?"

" _Don't_  speak that old fool's name!" roared Vaati, and it felt to Zelda as though his words had turned her to stone as surely as the princess of yore. Her muscles were so rigid in fear that she could not move for several seconds. (So  _this_ was the sorcerer of whom the epics had told.)

Apparently satisfied with this effect, his expression softened, and Zelda forced herself to relax. Unfortunately, she soon found that trembling head to toe was not much of an improvement. "R-regardless of who its rightful owner is," she continued with an effort, "the Minish never told me whether they still have it—and I stopped being able to see them several years ago. When I was little, I swore I'd never let that happen, but…"

Trailing off, Zelda lifted her eyes to Vaati's face to find that he was smiling again, as serenely as if the outburst of a mere moment ago had never taken place. "It seems your Minish friends no longer trust you," he said quietly, and his smile seemed to shift into a smirk.

"What?" demanded Zelda, attempting to steady herself and take a single step forward to prove that she was not afraid.

But Vaati only chuckled, raising a hand somewhat delicately to his chin, and Zelda froze again. "Surely you didn't think the Minish simply became invisible? No; the only reason you can't see them is because they don't want to be seen." He met her eyes, seemingly searching them, and she struggled not to turn away under his careful scrutiny. It felt alarmingly as though he could see into her soul. "Alas, perhaps they believe that even your noble heart has become corrupted."

"Corrupted?" asked Zelda faintly. That sounded altogether too much like the impurity of heart which would split the Triforce into pieces, and she took a moment to thank the goddess in which she did not believe that she had not tried to use its wish. Though by no means did she trust Vaati, she could not help but see the potential truth in his words; it was almost like an instinct.

"Typically, the Minish choose to show themselves only to those with pure souls, still capable of seeing the wonder in the world—most commonly, children," said Vaati coolly, examining his fingernails as though bored. "You, fair maiden, have lost that precious innocence forever, and that was your only value in their eyes."

As he looked up again, grinning, Zelda blinked, taken aback despite herself. For the most part, Vaati had been civil enough during their conversation that she found herself unprepared for the cruel glint in his eyes. Even when he had been angry with her, he had not seemed so purposely sadistic, and had offered no such personal insults. "How could you  _ever_  have been one of them?"

Vaati chuckled. "You have no idea how often I've asked myself the same question."

Despite the gravity of the situation, Zelda couldn't suppress a slight roll of her eyes. "Regardless,  _if_  we assume you're right and the Minish have the Mage's Cap, I still can't see them anymore, so—"

"So you'll need my help," finished Vaati, cutting her off smoothly. "Hence why I must show and not tell." His tone was subtly condescending, as though explaining something complicated to a child. (Despite being mildly offended, Zelda chose to ignore this. It hadn't seemed deliberate—more like he was simply accustomed to superiority.)

"But I'll be a hundred and five years old before the Minish Door opens again," said Zelda. Even if they were miraculously able to sidestep the fact that the Minish were now invisible to her, there was no way to overcome time. It was as much a constant as the space in which they lived.

"With the right instruments at hand, time shouldn't prove much of an obstacle," said Vaati casually, as if reading her thoughts exactly.

"What do you mean?" asked Zelda, curiosity momentarily overriding her anxiety.

Vaati gave a single laugh in response, crossing his arms, and looked her up and down with scorching scorn in his every feature; his eyes gleamed once more in the faint light. "I shouldn't have to teach a princess about her own mythology."

" _Explain_ ," commanded Zelda, with the little intensity she could muster.

Vaati raised his head a little higher to look down at her, evidently unimpressed, and she thought he would refuse—but then his eyes narrowed thoughtfully, like he had found a reason to cooperate, and Zelda wasn't sure whether the thought was more heartening or disquieting. "There is supposedly a powerful magical artifact which should, in theory, enable its bearer to travel through time to a point in history when the Minish Gate is open. The Ocarina of Time."

"And I suppose I'll have to find it before I can find the Mage's Cap?" asked Zelda, crossing her arms. Now, if only she could find a way to ditch Vaati and visit the Minish on her own somehow, she might actually stand a fighting chance of seeing her mission through to the end.

"Assuming it still exists, yes," said Vaati. "And finding the instrument is only half the problem. To manipulate the flow of time, one must also play a specific song, but it was an old one even during my reign. I doubt whether anyone remembers it anymore."

"This is ridiculous," muttered Zelda, glaring at the ground as she finally grasped the true difficulty of the task given her. "How am I supposed to find an instrument that may or may not exist and play a song no one knows to find a hat the Minish  _might_ have taken?! I don't even play the ocarina in the first place!"

"For the love of power, stop  _whining_ ," growled Vaati, tapping his fingers on his arm as if in warning. Zelda jumped at his sudden shift in mood, resolving to keep a closer eye on his expression from now on. Goddess, he was as changeable as the winds he commanded. "You're not the one in a cage."

"I may as well be," retorted Zelda, choosing with some difficulty not to mention that he could get out anytime he wished, and squinted down at her boots, trying desperately to think of some sort of shortcut, but she couldn't focus while she could Vaati's burning eyes still lingered upon her face. "This is impossible."

"No wonder the Minish abandoned you," said Vaati, another smile playing on his lips. "Didn't they ever try to teach you that old lie? That a positive attitude attracts a positive outcome? Even ignoring the laws of magnetism, that's still—"

"Zelda!" called Link's somewhat muffled voice from a distance, and she turned around sharply. "They're here, and they're not happy!"

Zelda's eyes widened, a jolt of alarm thrilling through her like lightning, and she noticed in her peripheral vision that Vaati looked vaguely annoyed at her doubtless agitated expression. "How is it that he can startle you just as much as I can?" he muttered, apparently resentful, but Zelda cut him off. There wasn't space in the conversation for stupid questions. It was of paramount importance that she learned everything she could today, because Hylia knew when she'd get another chance.

"We're out of time," said Zelda urgently, glancing backwards as a great crashing noise sounded repeatedly from the corridor—louder every time. Even an oaken door couldn't stand forever, if someone was determined enough to break it down. "Anything  _else_  I should know?"

Vaati gave a light sigh, and a gentle breeze seemed to waft through the dungeons, oddly refreshing. "Not yet."

Zelda glowered at him, but there was no time to point out how aggravating his response was. "Will you stay here?"

"Until I have recovered, yes," replied Vaati, raising his eyebrows as if surprised at the question. "After that, you're on your own."

"And so are you."

Vaati's eyes narrowed as he opened his mouth to reply, but any response he might have given was drowned out by the splintering thunder of the door finally giving way, and multiple sets of footsteps hurrying down the stairs, accompanied by the clank of heavy armor. (If the guards were coming to apprehend her for treason, they'd only have to take back their keys, open the cell door, and push her about six feet forward.)

As the footsteps halted, Zelda froze at the sound of an unexpected and far too familiar voice, snapping through the shadows: " _What_   _are you_   _doing_?!"

She turned around slowly, wide-eyed, to find the Queen herself glaring at her with all the wrath of a goddess incarnate, gripping her staff so tightly that Zelda was certain that her knuckles would be white if they had been visible beneath her gloves. "M-Mother, everything is  _fine_ ," coughed Zelda by way of protest, but she simply stepped past her daughter furiously to face Vaati.

Vaati bowed, less respectfully than he had for Zelda. "My, the family resemblance  _is_ strong—though I must say, the girl is lovelier still than you. Your favored consort must be very handsome." Judging from Vaati's laugh a moment later, his comment had the desired effect, but Zelda felt rooted to the floor, unable to turn and see her mother's expression. The quality of the ensuing silence told her that it was clearly not a happy one.

"Stay away from my daughter," snarled the Queen after a brief pause, and Zelda jumped as sharp fingernails dug into her shoulder even through two layers of fabric, steering her towards the stairway. She stumbled forward, feeling hollow inside. She could easily have withstood any punishment the guards saw fit to give her, but a confrontation with her  _mother_? This was the end.

"I'm in prison, you know," said Vaati, a grin in his voice, and the Queen halted abruptly, Zelda swaying in place with her movement. "You should be telling your daughter to stay away from  _me_."

Though her jaw tightened still further, the Queen evidently decided a response was not required. She merely marched onward after a brief pause, seemingly with an effort, and swept Zelda along with her. "You, young lady," hissed her mother, barely audible over the tramp of the guards behind them, "have a  _lot_ of explaining to do."


End file.
